


Speed Racers of Smallville

by Tallihensia



Category: Smallville
Genre: Drama, Episode Related, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-05
Updated: 2010-07-05
Packaged: 2017-10-10 09:56:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/98383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallihensia/pseuds/Tallihensia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A chance remark from Clark brings Lex and Pete closer together as friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speed Racers of Smallville

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Only mine in my dreams. ;-) This story was written for free entertainment purposes only and may not be reproduced for profit or altered without permission.
> 
> Spoilers: Season Three _Velocity_
> 
> Notes: After seeing _Velocity_, I'm not a happy camper. It was a **stupid** episode from start to end. As a result, this is a fix-it fic -- not a tag-on, but an actual fix from the start, totally changing the path of the storyline. It's from Lex's pov and is rather Lex-centric. ^^;

# Speed Racers of Smallville

"Mr. Luthor, I'm sorry to bother you..."

Lex looked up from his computer to see an unusual sight of his cook in his office. Mrs. Lonard didn't normally leave her domain. He locked the computer with a reflex twitch of the fingers and pasted on a smile. "It's alright. What is it?"

"I thought you might want to know. Mr. Kent was taken to the hospital last night. A heart attack."

Lex's own heart leapt into his throat and his hands flattened upon the table for support. _Clark..._

"The elder Mr. Kent," the cook hastened to add. "Young Clark and his mother were at the hospital until late, waiting for Mr. Kent to wake up."

Lex remembered how to breathe again. But still, the news wasn't good. Clark loved his father. "How is he?"

"The doctors say he should be back home in a few days." Mrs. Lonard hesitated before continuing. "But it was bad. They will want him to rest."

The Kents already had problems keeping their farm afloat, and with Mr. Kent not able to work... Lex stopped his thoughts where they were, reminding himself that he couldn't offer to hire farm hands or anything else that might help. They were so prideful. It was one of the things he loved about Clark's friendship, that he didn't accept Lex's money or gifts for himself, but it also made it hard in truly difficult times. "Is there... Is anybody..." Lex couldn't figure out how to ask.

Mrs. Lonard smiled. "Their friends are taking up a bit of a collection. They'll slip it to Mrs. Kent with Mr. Kent none the wiser. The other farmers are looking at rearranging their schedules so they can go over for a few hours a day each with plows and what not is needed for at least a few weeks. They'll have the farm taken care of until Mr. Kent can get back up on his feet."

Lex sighed with relief. There were definite advantages to living in a small town community. At least for those who had always lived there. He looked at Mrs. Lonard. "About this collection..."

"Nothing too much," she warned him. "Everybody knows how much these sort of things normally bring in and if you over-salt, it will be obvious."

It was very hard to restrain himself. "Five hundred?" he asked, thinking of all that needed doing. It was the barest drop for what it could do.

She shook her head.

Lex sighed. "Three hundred?"

Mrs. Lonard shook her head again but this time with a grin. "If you give me twenties, I'll slip it in among the various donation groups so it won't look as obvious."

"You're a saint, Mrs. Lonard." Lex was very grateful to her. After his return from the asylum, Lex had been forced to fight tooth and nail, trying not to look as though he was, to keep Mrs. Lonard on as cook in the house. His father had replaced every other employee with ones from Metropolis. Lex didn't trust them at all. And if he didn't have Mrs. Lonard, he wouldn't still have his connection with Smallville. Bitterly, he wondered how much longer his father would let him have her.

... ... ...

As soon as he could without raising suspicions in the house, Lex made his way out. He dropped by briefly at the plant, again regretting the loss of Mr. Sullivan. Lex was in a difficult position since returning from his three months on the island, being declared dead, and then coming back only to get thrown in a sanitarium. Lex's father had control of his life even more now than when he'd been twelve. Twenty-three, and the game was more dangerous than ever.

Finally, he reached his goal. "Clark," Lex hailed his friend as he got out of the car. "I just heard. How is your dad?"

Clark paused from throwing hay bales into the truck. It was telling that Clark hadn't stopped before then as he'd seen Lex driving up. Clark's face settled into lines of annoyance as he straightened to talk to Lex.

Lex winced. He had a habit, it seemed lately, of catching Clark when his friend was angry at the world. Well, that was okay, Lex was used to worse, and Clark had to have **somebody** to lash out at.

"If it isn't the **other** fast-driving moron on the Smallville roads," Clark greeted him angrily. "Run over anybody lately?"

Lex blinked, his mouth falling open slightly. Even for an angry Clark, that was a bit much. Lex glanced up and down Clark's body, looking for anything weirdly glowing or any signs of something wrong.

Seeming to realize he'd gone too far, Clark sighed. "Sorry. I just... The doctors don't know yet. They say he can come home in a couple of days, but it was bad." Clark shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. He didn't say anything else, but Lex could tell Clark was reliving whatever he and his family had been through.

"If you need anything..." Lex had to make the offer. He knew it would be rejected, but he had to make it anyhow.

It won him a small smile from Clark, at least, as Clark acknowledged both the offer and the futility of it.

"Do you want to come inside?" Clark gestured towards the farm house.

The thought of facing Martha Kent in forced lady-of-the-house politeness mode when she had to be worried sick about her husband wasn't something Lex had the courage to face. "That's okay. Please, relay my wishes to your mom." He instantly regretted his wording choice. 'Wishes' made it sound like he was a lord asking for something. 'Offer' would have been better. Or not. 'Hope'? 'Thoughts'? One would think he'd be better at this. But how many friends did he have? Truly, just Clark.

Clark didn't seem to notice, his thoughts again inward. "Yeah, okay. Lex, I don't mean to be rude, but I've got a lot of work to do..." He gestured at the hay bales.

When was the last time Lex and Clark had just sat around and talked? After the island, before the sanitarium. Now really wasn't a good time, though. Lex made to get back in the car and then hesitated a moment. "Clark. You said you were almost hurt?"

Clark paused for a moment, obviously having forgotten his greeting to Lex.

Lex prompted him, "Somebody almost ran over you?"

"Oh." Clark had the grace to blush. "Sorry. My mom and I were coming home from the hospital last night when we almost got hit by a street racing car. I talked to Pete about it today, but he totally blew me off and I guess I'm still mad."

No kidding Clark was still mad. Lex almost felt sorry for Pete, having been on the receiving end of one of Clark's blow-ups more than once himself. But then, Clark had yet to take a nine-iron to anybody's car or destroy his living room, so Lex figured he had nothing to complain about.

"Okay, then," Lex replied easily, letting it go. "But Clark, if you do need anything... you or your family... I owe you all so much."

There was another small smile from Clark, this one sad and tinged with guilt. That guilt had been there ever since Lex had gotten out of the sanitarium and Lex wished he knew what it was about. He hated having that huge gap in his memories, and Clark so far had only told him about minor, normal things. Lex knew there was more buried in there than just that. And he didn't believe his father's versions at all, though he pretended he did.

"I will, Lex. Thanks."

With that, Lex had to be content, and he drove off again, leaving his friend alone.

... ... ...

That night, Lex tossed and turned in his bed. _Run over anybody lately?_ was on duel-sound stereo in his head while his mind's eye kept showing him Clark against the bridge, turning to face Lex as the car slammed into him.

Finally he gave the night's sleep up as a lost cause and got up. He drank a glass of water at the bathroom sink and looked at himself in the mirror. Lex knew the mind was a capricious character, not to be trusted. Julian, Lewis... the missing months of his life. But one thing his mind had never wavered on was that moment at the bridge. He'd run into Clark. He'd hit that youth straight on, even as he tried to swerve the car out of the way. Not a glancing blow, or right next to him, or any of the other things it could have been. He had looked that young man in the eyes as the car had hit him.

For all his wild youth, Lex had been careful to only damage himself. Or he'd tried. Often his plans backfired, like the infamous Club Zero scene. But he'd never wanted to hurt others. Julian's death still weighed too heavily on his soul.

And Clark's death also weighed heavily. Or Clark's 'almost' death. What should have been his death, and Lex's as well. Lex left the bedroom and padded down the hall to his room. He checked to make sure nobody was around before slipping inside and locking the door behind him.

The computer model that Nixon had put together for him. Lex had intended it to dispel his nightmares, to show that really the car had hit the bridge next to Clark and that his dreams were a figment of his imagination. Instead, Nixon had recreated the nightmare. But Nixon was a blackmailer, not to be trusted. Tried to kill Jonathan Kent just a few months after this, insane at the end. Was this model to be trusted? Lex had gone over the mathematics... but data could be faked. Was the angle of the skid marks correct? The reason there was a dent in his car? It wasn't like Clark had left any marks on the bridge to show where he was standing. They just had the car... but the car's dent was inconsistent with having run into a human being. It could have been a pole on the bridge. Or a cylinder. Maybe one of those metal bales like the one he'd run over, only upright and in a fixed position.

Anything but Clark.

_Run over anybody lately?_

Lex curled up on the floor, surrounded by his mysteries, and went to sleep.

... ... ...

The next day was a quandary. Lex wanted to go talk to Pete, but he was at a loss for how to do it. He and Pete were not friends, more like friendly rivals for Clark's friendship. Strike the 'friendly' part from that. It certainly didn't help that Lex's dad had completely screwed over the Ross family when buying out the creamed corn plant in order to put in the fertilizer plant.

Lex had looked over the old legal papers, thinking it was only a bad deal in the Rosses' minds... but no, it really **had** been a screw-over of epic proportions. Lex often wondered just what the hell his dad had been thinking about. That was no way to run a business in a town the size of Smallville. But then, nothing his dad did in Smallville made any business sense. The castle itself was one of those weird things. Why build a castle and then never visit it? And why in Smallville? Lex suspected his dad still held a grudge against the town for the meteor shower that had lost his son's hair.

But that wasn't helping him to figure out how to see Pete.

The usual places Lex saw Pete were in the Talon or at the high school. Lex had been avoiding the Talon ever since being released from the sanitarium – his guilt whenever he saw Lana was too much for him. She could easily have died from that horse trampling on her, and paying the medical records didn't help ease his conscience. Even though Lana herself had forgiven him and dropped by a few times to visit, it would be a long time before Lex felt comfortable visiting the Talon again.

The high school was out; too many witnesses and Clark would be there.

Lex couldn't, though, he just **couldn't** ask Pete to come see him at the castle. Some tone that would set. Chloe didn't usually mind, being happy enough to come and poke her nose around the place. Sometimes, Lex thought Chloe was as free in the castle as Clark was. And Lex had found to his surprise that he didn't mind Chloe being there either, just like Clark. She always brought life into the place. Pete, on the other hand… Pete would resent being brought to the castle.

That really only left one option. Lex sighed and went to the garage to select a car.

... ... ...

Lex stood on the porch and rang the doorbell. Inside, he could hear shouts of laughter and voices raised in lively discussion. Sounds one would never hear in a Luthor house, although he and his dad both sometimes raised 'discussion' to shouting levels. Never, however, with laughter in their voices.

The door opened and a tall young man looked at him for a moment in surprise. Then he sneered. "No Luthors welcome here. Go do your pan-handling somewhere else." The door shut in Lex's face.

Lex sighed. Yes, that had gone about as well as he'd expected.

As he stood there debating what to do next, he heard a voice inside rising above the others, and with no laughter in her tone.

"Edward Collin Ross! How dare you shut the door in a guest's face! You know better than that!"

The door swung open again to show a furious older woman in a business suit, apparently having just come home from work. "Mr. Luthor, I'm very very sorry for my son." She shot a glare off to one side. "He will know better, that I promise you."

Lex hid a smile. He quite liked Judge Ross for her wry sense of humor on the bench and her fairness to all. She made punishments fit the crimes in the courthouse, and he was sure she did so at her home as well.

"Please come in." She stepped aside to let him in the house.

There were no more cheerful voices bouncing off the walls. No voices at all. Lex's footsteps broke the silence with each step on the hardwood floors and Lex almost wished the floor was carpeted instead. In the dining room, three angry faces glared at him, then the glares melted away as they met their mom's gaze. The youths melted away as well, dispersing about the home. Once again, Lex's presence alone was enough to dispel cheer and dispense gloom.

Judge Ross sighed as she guided him to a seat at the table and brought out some cookies. "I'm very sorry about that. As much as I try to tell them that one Luthor is not the same as another, they all have these chips on their shoulders.... I knock them off when I see them, but they're very good at hiding from me sometimes."

"That's alright," Lex said politely, amused by the description. "I'm used to it."

Sharp eyes studied him. "And that itself is a bad thing." She shook her head and sat down next to him. "What can I do for you?"

Lex smiled again, this time without the hidden agenda. Of course she would assume he was here to see her. He'd asked her for a few favors in his time. "Actually, I'm here to see Pete, if I could."

Judge Ross blinked a moment and then nodded. "I'll go up and tell him you're here."

She rose but paused, her hand on the back of the chair. "Lex... I'm sorry we couldn't do more."

It was Lex's turn to blink. He didn't have the faintest idea what she was referring to.

Seeing that, Judge Ross frowned. "We tried to get you out of there. It wasn't right. The Kents had evidence that it was drugs, not you, and then there was the Morgan Edge connection... but we just didn't have **enough** evidence and legally your dad had more right."

Lex's heart ran both hot and cold, hearing that. He hadn't known anybody had tried to get him out. His dad hadn't mentioned it. **Clark** hadn't mentioned it. And if it was just Clark, Judge Ross would have said so, instead she said 'the Kents' meaning the whole family. Lex was... he was thankful and astonished that they hadn't abandoned him there. And at the same time, he was now scared for them. They had put themselves against his father, and lost.

"Drugs?" he asked carefully. He needed to know.

Her frown grew deeper. "Nobody has told you. And you don't remember."

Lex shook his head.

Judge Ross cursed under her breath and then went into the kitchen, coming back with a small bottle of whiskey and a couple of glasses. She poured a shot for both of them and then told Lex what she knew. The evidence Clark had of the glass shards, the 'confession' from the security staff who later disappeared and was never found again, the shoot-out at the old city summer home and the proof they'd found that Morgan Edge had been living there since his supposed death months before.

"It's not very much," Lex said, pouring another shot because he needed it.

"No. Even the work that you and I did in getting Ryan Scott out of that other institution wasn't enough ground work to hold up. As a fall-back, we were trying to get you into a hospital instead of Belle Reeve, though your father... it wouldn't have been completely safe there. But that didn't work either."

It wouldn't have worked, not against his father. Lex wondered again why his father had wanted him in Belle Reeve so badly. Lex had already lost everything he'd worked for, being declared legally dead for three months on the island. His fledging corporation, gone. Most of his independent money, gone with it. Some of the money restored after he was alive, but not his corporation, absorbed into LuthorCorp. Forced to work again for his father in non-real jobs, given menial tasks and shown the error of his independence.

If Lex had known that quote about pencil-pushers had come from Chloe through Clark, he would never have thrown it in his dad's face. Losing Gabe at the plant had hurt what little recovery Lex had made there since he'd come back. Being forced to be the one to fire him had just been that extra dig his father had to make.

"Thank you for trying," Lex said softly, sincerely. He didn't know anybody else who would have, and his family had hurt the Rosses so badly...

Judge Ross curled her fingers around the whiskey glass. "You are not your father. All you have done since you came to Smallville is to help us. You helped Ryan, you helped Whitney, you helped Lana, you helped the Kents, you helped everybody at the plant. You saved our children. You've never asked for anything in return. It was the least we could do."

That bit of human kindness... Lex shivered. "Thank you," he said again, completely inadequately.

"I'll go get Pete," she said, recognizing that Lex had reached his limit. She rose from the table and went upstairs.

Lex stayed at the table, his eyes on the empty glass. Ryan had died. Whitney had died. Lana had almost died. The Kents had toxic waste spilled on their lands and their cows had died. The plant wouldn't have been in danger if it hadn't been for his dad pushing him. Sometimes, Lex wondered if it was all worth it. He hoped nothing would happen to Judge Ross for trying to help him.

"Lex." A sullen, wary voice that Lex knew well.

Lex turned around, forcing a smile. "Hi Pete."

"Mom said you wanted to talk to me." Pete sat at the far end of the table, his arms crossing over his chest. It reminded Lex vividly of Clark the day before. In some ways, the two teenagers were a lot alike.

They couldn't talk here. Lex glanced around the dining room that would normally be filled with cheer and good will. He knew there were ears around the corner and eyes waiting to see.

"Want to go for a ride?" he asked, standing up.

"No." Pete said shortly, not budging.

God save him from teenagers. Lex got his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Pete.

Automatically catching them, Pete's eyes widened as he saw the symbol on the key ring.

"You can drive," Lex said. Actually, after those shots of whiskey, Pete had **better** drive. Lex wasn't drunk, but he wasn't fool enough to drive away from a district judge's house with anything close to a raised blood level. Even if she was the one who had served him the drinks.

"Wow..." Pete whispered, then his mouth snapped shut and his eyebrows lowered. "Clark told you," he said, resentful and angry.

"Accidentally." Lex glanced about the dining room with all its open doors and passageways to siblings and family. "Shall we go?"

Pete also glanced around. With a hurried movement, he stood up and left the room, yelling as he did so to let his mom and the world know he was heading out.

Lex winced slightly. His dad would have had his head if he'd ever shouted like that in the house. Did have, actually, several times until Lex had learned to be quiet. He followed Pete, reflecting on families and forgiveness.

Outside, Pete reverently hovered his hands over the silver Porsche, not quite touching, definitely worshiping. As Lex approached, Pete lowered his hands. "She's beautiful," he whispered.

Lex had to grin. "She is," he agreed. "Just got her off the lot last month, special early release." He slipped into the passenger seat.

Pete got in the driver's seat, his hands eager but reverent at the wheel, adjusting the seat and mirrors carefully. "You're sure, man?"

"I'm sure." Lex leaned back in his seat. Pete knew his cars, that was evident enough. If not, well, that's what insurance was for. "I was thinking we could go out to Willow Pass?" It was far enough out of town so there weren't a lot of people around and yet not popular among the street racers as it went by a couple of cow fields.

Silently, Pete started the engine and shifted gears to reverse and then pull onto the road. "He really did tell you."

"Accidentally," Lex repeated. He knew what it was like for one 'friend' to tell another about weakness, with mocking scornful voices that tore up the one they discussed. Clark wasn't like that and would never even think of doing something like that.

"How does somebody 'accidentally' tell something like that?" Pete asked as he drove carefully, getting a feel for the car. Pete's voice was hopeful, wanting to believe in Clark as much as Lex did.

Lex grimaced. "I went over yesterday to tell him sorry about his dad. Clark greeted me with 'So there's the other insane speed racer – run over anybody today?'"

Pete whistled. "Oh, that's harsh! Uh, geeze. Look, man, Clark can... I mean when he's got a lot on his mind, he says stuff and doesn't mean it. Really."

A fight and harsh words just the day before between them, and yet here was Pete defending Clark. Lex wondered if Clark really knew how much his friends cared for him. "I know," he said simply in reply.

"Yeah, I guess you would," Pete said with a sideways look. "Still, sorry."

Lex shrugged it off. Clark's harsh words were nothing. Every previous so-called friend in his life had done worse than that both while they were pretending and after they dropped the masks. Lex knew what the pretenders were like, and Clark really **was** a friend, the only true one he'd ever had. Lex would forgive a lot more than just a few unkind words rashly spoken to have Clark as his friend. Pete, though, had many friends more than just Clark, and still he put up with him. Impulsively, Lex apologized to Pete. "I'm sorry for taking him away from you." Not that Lex really was sorry – he **needed** Clark more than Pete did. But still. Seeing how much Pete cared...

Pete snorted. "You didn't, man. It's high school. Folks go different ways, find different things. Girls. Clark and I, we're still tight. You're just a blip in his life."

At the last sentence, Lex involuntarily winced. He often thought the reason he tried to cling so hard to Clark was because he was afraid that was the case. For all he talked about their great friendship of destiny, he knew he was just one among many for Clark.

"Uh, sorry." Pete sounded ashamed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant... Clark and me – we're cool."

"Even if he's angry with you right now?" Lex steered the conversation back to the one he'd wanted to have.

"Yeah. We'll get over it. We always do." Pete's voice sounded a bit strained, as if he wasn't quite so sure of his own words.

Lex knew the feeling well.

They drove in silence for a while before Pete burst out, "There's **nobody** on those roads at one am! Nobody! The only ones who use that lane period are the Kents and the Potters, and the Kents are in bed by 9pm, 10 at the latest, and nobody's moved into the Potter house since the last family. That road is **safe** for racing."

Except when Clark and his mom come home at one in the morning from being at the hospital. Personally, Lex was more on Pete's side. "How about the area by Stater Rock? Going back behind the Anderson's?"

Pete relaxed his grip on the wheel. "Yeah, we use that too. Have to be careful of the Andersons – sometimes they have visitors."

"Bolder patch, out by the quarry?"

"Too narrow – might get one car there but racing two or more is a problem. Good practice run, though."

They traded locations and streets for awhile before Pete finally laughed. "You know all the spots, man, and you didn't even grow up here!"

Lex grinned lazily, stretching out in the passenger seat. "I love it out here. So many open spots and places to drive freely. Back home, if I wanted to just let loose, I had to schedule it and get a slot in the ring. No just going out and doing it in whatever I feel like driving."

"You drive sports cars?" Pete's voice was instantly reverent. He glanced over at Lex, wide-eyed. Obviously some of Pete's car-worship was transferring to the sport car driver. How to make a friend of a teenage boy – drive fast cars around a race-track.

"Some," Lex admitted. "Those we've got shares in, and I had a couple made for me."

"Ever raced?"

"Formally? No." Lex dropped his eyelids, hiding his eyes though Pete was back to carefully watching the road. "My father thinks it isn't dignified enough. And really, I more just want the fast cars. I have enough of the crowds."

"The crowds is part of it for me," Pete admitted. "Getting out with them cheering and the power of knowing I'm why they're cheering. The girls..."

Lex's grin deepened. The girls could be quite fun indeed. "It's not real but it's fun while it lasts. Yeah, I know that one. Only problem is the coming down."

"Haven't lost one yet," Pete announced cheerfully. "Jason has this booster on his cars... he's an awesome engineer and the booster just blasts it over the top. There's nothing better than that kick in the seat when the car is going forward."

"I don't like turbos." Lex shrugged. "When you start mixing turbos with the cars then it becomes less a matter of engineering and driving skill than reading the person you're racing against. Knowing just when to activate it and how long and when they're going to use theirs... There's some of that in a race anyhow, but... I play poker with my dad and his cronies all day long at work. When I'm out driving, I just want to drive."

Pete was silent for a bit. "Your job must be no fun at all."

Lex snorted in laughter. "No."

"So why do you do it?"

Lex glanced out at the deserted road around them. Nothing and nobody but the cows. Fast car, clear road, no goals to reach for. "Because I can. Because my dad expects me to. Because what else am I going to do?"

"You could race cars."

Lex smiled sadly. "I think I'd lose my love for it if I had to do it for a living. 'Sides, I already said, it's not the crowds."

"Not for you." Pete downshifted and pulled over. "We're at the top. You want to take her?"

Lex felt all loose-boned and relaxed, talking about things he loved. It wasn't the same as when he and Clark talked. This was about adrenaline, rush, fast cars and pushing one's self to the limits. Something Clark had apparently missed out on. Surprisingly, though, something he and Pete shared. "Sure. You do the run next."

They took turns on the old road, going from one end to the next, pushing themselves and the speeds until the dust was making it difficult to see and the gas was getting low.

Lex had never had so much fun in his life. Well, sometimes. But not with anybody so innocent. Pete was even worse than Clark in some regards, though much more knowing in others. For the first time, Lex figured out why Pete and Clark were such good friends. The two of them complimented each other, filling in gaps the other lacked. Mix Chloe in with them and they were a very solid trio. Lex stifled a pang as he realized that he didn't fit in.

"Hey," Pete asked hesitantly as they drove back towards their house. "You want to come tomorrow night? 1am by Pebble Heights."

"I've got to be in Metropolis tomorrow," Lex reluctantly answered. He wasn't sure if showing up at a street-racing deal was something his dad would approve of. But screw his dad. "I'll try and make it back. But..."

"Your dad expects you to be there the whole time," Pete finished for him. "That sucks. Aren't you old enough to be on your own?"

Lex let out a laugh. "You would think so." He sobered. "He's been keeping a closer eye on me since the island."

"Oh. Yeah, I can see his point. My dad would freak if something like that had happened to me."

Lex only wished it had been something like that. Even though Pete had been born and raised on Luthor-hatred, he still just didn't **get** what Lionel Luthor was really like.

Dropping Pete off, Lex turned back to the castle, wishing he had a life like Pete's, and knowing that Pete was probably wishing he had one like Lex's. Of course, his dream for a normal life and Pete's for an exciting one were both false as they didn't know what the other truly was. Each had to live the life they were given. Still, though, Lex couldn't help but yearn for what he didn't have.

... ... ...

The next day, Lex's dad kept him tied up in meetings for almost the entire day and then also wanted him to write out a business plan for one of the newly acquired companies. What did Lex know about business for a veterinary supply company? What did Lionel **want** with a veterinary supply company?

In between running around for his dad, Lex managed to go over and talk to the woman that Chloe had found, the researcher working with Adam. Lex was impressed by her and her studies, if not by her very careless manner of assuming her unauthorized projects would never be found. Still, her carelessness gave him something that he could use against her, to maneuver her to his side. If he was ever to break out from his father again, Lex needed his own people. Scientists were good for only caring about their own projects. If he could get them on his side, he could never trust them but that didn't matter if they would work for him.

After work there was more work – society events. Lionel thought it was time to show the world his son wasn't a raving lunatic **after** having put said son into the institution in the first place, which Lex thought was just silly. But it meant he had to dress up in tux and tie and show up and be polite and drink champagne from glittering glasses and grit his teeth and not respond to all the sly innuendos. How he wanted to be back in Smallville at this moment. Sitting up in Clark's loft, looking at the stars through his telescope and talking about constellation myths. Or having Clark in his castle, shooting pool or watching a movie curled up in the couch.

Even if he was back in Smallville right now, though, there wouldn't be any Clark. There hadn't been since he'd gotten out of Belle Reeve. Lex had assumed it was because Clark was scared of him, wary of the insane person in his midst. Now, though, after hearing Judge Ross talk about how the Kents had tried to free him... Lex wondered what his dad had done. How had he scared Clark, of all people, off? Clark had always stuck to Lex before, no matter the threats or intimidations. But this last time, something had finally broken that. And Lex didn't remember what.

Midnight came and Lex snuck out. Leaving even as the hall clock chimed. Who had a hall clock anymore? Stupid rich people like him. At this time of night, it only took a few hours to drive the distance between Metropolis and Smallville, and Lex couldn't help but grin as he drove at illegal speeds on the roads and wondering how Pete was faring with his own.

It was probably too late, but Lex swung by Pebble Heights. The racing crowd was easy to pick out, bright lights and party atmosphere. Lex mingled in amidst them like a ghost in the crowd, remembering his own wild teenage years.

He was there just in time for the finish as the two cars came tearing around the bend, neck and neck. One slid in ahead and the crowd went wild. Lex glanced at the driver as he got out, but it wasn't Pete. He made his way to the other car where there was a much smaller crowd shouting condolences.

Pete despondently took off his helmet.

"Good race," said one of the guys next to him with a wink. "Can't win them all." He started looking over the car, checking for damage, instantly forgetting about Pete.

Lex moved up next to him. "Your field manager doesn't seem all that upset," he noted.

"Hey, Lex, you made it!" Pete's smile dimmed as he remembered his loss. He edged off a bit, taking Lex with him. "Jason wanted me to throw it. He'd bet a lot of money against me and told me before the race to lose."

While Lex hadn't seen the whole race, that finish was not one of somebody deliberately loosing. Pete was trying as hard as he could, and he was visibly upset now. "You didn't," Lex said with confidence. He **knew** Pete wouldn't have deliberately thrown the race, no matter what. "It was well run and a good match. Just sometimes, the other guy is a bit better, or the luck is on their side this time."

"I didn't use the booster," Pete sighed. "I had my finger on the button, wanting to, but I remembered what you'd said about it being a different game... I wanted to try this game for once. And I lost."

"But fairly." Lex squinted at the car Pete had been in. The engineer was opening the trunk... "Is that **meteor fluid**?!"

"Uh, you don't need to be messing with that, man." Pete flipped from being despondent to being nervous.

Lex eyed him sideways. "You and Clark are forever trying to get me to stay out of meteor business, and you've been **racing cars** with them?"

Pete squirmed. "It was just the turbo! It wasn't like it was anything straight on. And the turbo was so awesome..."

It was evident that even though Pete had tried racing the regular way, he really liked the booster effect. Lex had to grin. "What do you think about planes?"

It was funny, how Pete's whole body lit up and he seemed to come alive. "Oh man... Jets would be so **awesome**!" He looked at Lex eagerly. "Do you fly?"

Lex shook his head. "I used to be afraid of heights. I can fly, Dad doesn't like weaknesses in Luthor's, but I've never liked it."

"You and Clark both," Pete grinned. "He's afraid of heights too, but he'll deny it all the way to the top."

"Really." Lex responded with a matching smile. He hadn't known that about Clark. "I don't fly regularly, but I can introduce you to some of those who do."

"That would be great." Pete glanced back at the cars wistfully. "I don't think I'm going to be racing with them anymore."

"Swing by the castle sometime," Lex offered. "I've got all those cars in the garage that need to be appreciated now and again. And..." he trailed off, unsure about the last part.

Pete looked over. "And somebody to race against?" He smiled a little shyly. "I'd like that, thanks."

Lex was tempted to make it a deal with a handshake, but with his family's history... that may not go over well. He restrained himself with a simple, "Cool."

They walked to their cars, leaving the racing ones and the people crowded around them behind. Lex gave one last appraising look at the engineer. Perhaps he'd try recruiting him later. In the meantime... "See you tomorrow, Pete."

"Yeah, Lex." Pete climbed in his old car. "And thanks."

Lex got in his own car, smiling. He'd originally only intended to try and solve one of Clark's problems for him, but somewhere along the line, he'd made another Smallville friend. It felt good. Better than he'd felt for a long time, missing memory or not.

He drove home cheerfully. He'd face whatever his dad threw at him next, and he'd survive it, because he was in Smallville and he had friends here.

 

* * *

  
End  


* * *

**Author's Note:**

> FYI, there is already an awesome story out there about Pete and Lex and bonding over racing. [Project Metropolis](http://smallvillefanfic.com/archive/14/projectmetropolis.html) by Roses. It's a great friendship story and perfect for what it is. There are some similarities just because of the subject matter, but I wasn't trying to do that in this fic; rather to just fix a few broken things along the way here (Pete really got a bad deal in this episode o.o) and then pretend after that that Velocity never happened.
> 
> Many thanks to wonderful beta Lady Dreamer, and also for patiently listening to me rant and rant about the episode. This was therapy to help me enjoy the characters again. {{hugs}} to Lady Dreamer. :)
> 
> Cross-posted to [my livejournal](http://community.livejournal.com/alatrific/15922.html)


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